This made me go out looking for endless runners that do things a little differently, which involved jumping over to our Best iPhone Games Page and spotting Nosferatu: Run From The Sun (free, universal). If it wasn’t any good, it wouldn’t be on the list – but what makes it worth playing? Let’s have a look.

Have a look at the video we made for a look at some of the key gameplay and free-to-play elements of Nosferatu: Run From The Sun.

Cute, Murderous Vampires Running Into Town

At its core, Nosferatu: Run From the Sun is comparable to other endless runners on iOS and Android. You run from left to right for as long as you can, jumping over pits, and avoid obstacles while trying to last as long as possible to accumulate a high score.

Much of the action will feel familiar, albeit with some pretty cool tweaks, such as the humans strewn throughout the level. Instead of avoiding them, you want to run through them to turn them in friends, which is a nice way of saying “suck their blood and convert them into the undead” which in turn rewards you with points, and gives the whole endless running thing a little more of a purpose.

Power-ups mix the gameplay up a tad, as you collect some pretty cool abilities including the very handy triple jump. Additionally, there are parts of the game where you actually fly (known as “bat mode”), which makes it feel much more like Jetpack Joyride. Again this does a great job of breaking up the mechanics of running to the right and jumping over pits.

One thing that really makes Nosferatu stand out is the multiplayer. When you launch a multiplayer game, you will play as normal, running as far as possible in an effort to get the best score you can. Once finished, you can leave and go about your business. Once the other people it groups you with run, it will rank you, with the three players sitting on the podium as the blood sucking runner champions.

It’s a nice way of handling asynchronous gameplay and injecting some competition with a group of players, instead of just a one-on-one race.

Are Vampires Pretty Only At Night?

As far as endless runners go, this is a very pretty-looking one. It has a detailed and cartoony art style that packs in the detail, and the vampire character you play as is undeniably cute. Instead of plumping for the creepy or scary theme, developers opted to go with something that has a little broader appeal. It was a good call, because the themes and visuals will appeal to both kids and adults – just look at the detail in the background below!

One of my favorite aspects of the game is the background music. The little tune that plays while you run is catchy as can be, and in all the time I spent playing the game I never once found myself wanting to mute it. The sound design is solid, and compliments the music well. When your little vampire friend jumps, you can feel the “umph” he is putting into it.

Thankfully, in the case of Nosferatu: Run From the Sun, the free-to-play hooks are not overly intrusive. Prices remain very high for some items in the store, especially the alternate characters, but most of them can be purchased with money earned by simply playing the game. Of course, you can also buy this currency using real money if you want to.

There are ads in the game, and they do pop up occasionally between rounds. These can be a little annoying, but not enough to detract from the fun. Overall, this is far from the worst free-to-play game you will find on the market, but it isn’t the best either. It toes the line, somehow managing to never cross over to the point of being intrusive, and you can absolutely have a great time playing the game without ever spending a dime.